December 2021 – World Radio Paris

Dec 24,2021

Fashion’s Christmas Story

Once upon a time there was a very beautiful city called Paris. It was famed for fashion and regarded for its style so much that all the Kings, Princesses and Queens wanted to be associated with it. This story is captivating – imagine a knitted suit so iconic, you could tell the designer simply by looking at it. Then, the ability to make lips a colour so striking, it both empowered and sensualised women of every class, all across the world. Our story ends by visiting an imposing castle at sunset – where we lay our weary heads surrounded by the Chateau’s Christmas Couture and all lived fashionably ever after.

by Michael Parr

Local Show Dec 22,2021

Dino Salomon on Turning Points

In this episode of Turning Points, Patricia Killeen welcomed Dino Salomon, a young crooner, whose “honeymoon” voice carries the banner for the Rat Pack, in the most authentic Parisian venues.
Born in Rabat-Morocco, Dino moved to France at the age of 18 to study History of Art, then studied Art and finally Japanese language and civilization.

When he arrived in Paris, he lived at the foot of Montmartre. One sunny day, he saw a singer performing on the steps of Sacré-Cœur and had an epiphany! He picked up his own guitar and spent years busking on the Sacré-Cœur steps, singing all kind of genres. After a lengthy period singing the Blues, Dino discovered early 1900’s music and found his genre and voice.

He built a repertoire based on Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and The Mills Brothers songs. He teamed up with pianist Sheldon Forrest and sung for years at the Club Rayé, and spent three years performing at the mythical Chat Noir.

Nowadays you can hear him at the magical Café Blanche.

For private concerts, alone or with other artists, contact Dino by email: tarexki@gmail.com
FB: @Dino Salomon
Instagram :@dinocrooner

by The WRP Team

Dec 20,2021

Misconceptions about the French Revolution

My guest on this episode of the podcast is historian Suzanne Levin and we discuss common misconceptions about the French Revolution.

Questions we tackle about the French Revolution
The French Revolution didn’t happen in a vacuum. In this episode, let’s set the stage for what happened and why.

In the “pop history” version of the French Revolution there is a tendency to compress events into ridiculous simplifications such as “one day peasants got angry and started chopping the heads of Royalty, the end.”

Another version goes a little more in-depth. The way the French Revolution is often taught is that there are 3 moments:

1789 where all the big events happened (Estates General, Tennis Court Oath, Bastille, Women’s March on Versailles).

Jump four years to 1793 -1794 with Robespierre who made himself a dictator and chopped off the heads of anyone who disagreed with him.

Overthrown and a weak government with a military dictatorship.

What we’re trying to do with this episode is fill in many important details while still keeping an eye on the big picture.

by The WRP Team

Dec 16,2021

Concerts: making up for lost time

After nearly two years without world-class concerts, 2022 should please all music lovers.

If you live in Paris, you are in for some fantastic evenings at various venues around town:

If you like massive shows, Coldplay has added several evenings in July at Stade de France, Red Hot Chili Peppers are also back in France’s largest stadium on July 8 and 9, and Ed Sheeran later in July.

Dua Lipa, Belgium’s Stromae, French singer Vianney, Maluma, Burna Boy, Haitian super-stars Carimi, Aerosmith, Alanis Morissette, Billie Eilish, Daddy Yankee, Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, and Swedish House Mafia will close the summer programming at Bercy Arena. Autumn will see The Weeknd, Placebo and The Cure… with Elton John and Justin Bieber announced for 2023.

The latest venue to have opened in our region will welcome pop-rock giants The Killers in July : La Scene Musicale, in Boulogne.

And if that’s not enough, WRP’s MusicMix cannot wait to play all of Counting Crows’ hits in the weeks leading to their concert at Folies Bergères on March 18th.

Let’s revise the lyrics to Mr Jones!

by The WRP Team

Dec 16,2021

Eurovision Junior

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 takes place 19 December live from Paris,
France at 4pm CET.
Patricia KILLEEN welcomed 14-year-old contestant MAIÚ LEVI LAWLOR –
IRELAND’S CHOICE FOR THE JUNIOR EUROVISION – on WORLD RADIO
PARIS. They chatted about how he was getting on in Paris in the run up to the
contest and he sang an excerpt from his song entitled “Saor” (composed by Niall
Mooney and others);
The majority of its lyrics are in Irish, with some English and French phrases. The
song is up-beat bop and discribes the strength and resilience of our youth throughout
lockdown.
In the opening lines it describes the isolation when schools were closed and the
young separated from their friends and extended family members. It also describes
how the young people are emerging from this period with a new zest for life, and
Maiú sings “You (that is Covid) can’t make us (the youth) Disappear”.
In the interview, Maiú explained how he thought it was important to sing in Irish; “as
much as Irish is heard within Ireland – it’s lovely that it will be heard on a more global
level”.
You can vote for Maiú online: https://eurovisionworld.com/esc/all-about-junior-
eurovision-2021

Voting will be open from December 17 at 5 p.m. The voting platform will close
at the very start of the show, Sunday December 19 at 4 p.m. CET, but will
reopen at the end of all performances for 15 minutes.

The winner of the Junior Eurovision will be the artist who collected the most
votes from the public (counting for 50% of the vote), and from of all the
national juries (50%).

Listen to the interview

We’re rooting for you Maiú!

by The WRP Team

Dec 15,2021

Josephine Baker enters the Pantheon in Paris

Josephine Baker, performer, entrepreneur, mother and war heroine was a force to reckon with. She rose from poverty in America into fame and success by the time she was in her mid-20s in France.

On this episode of the podcast, Annie Sargent and Elyse Rivin talk about her amazing life and why you should visit the Château des Milandes in the Dordogne where she lived for 20 years. We also discuss the reason why it’s so significant that she’s entering the Pantheon today.

This episode features my frequent guest Elyse Rivin. You can book a tour with her through her website and you can also support her on Patreon.

Full show notes for this episode are here: https://joinusinfrance.com/365

by The WRP Team

Archive 31 December 2021